The Study On The System Of Agreement Extension Of Limitation Of Actions About Carriage Of Goods By Sea

The limitation of actions is the key of judicial system,with the implementing of"the belt and road" policy,therefore,more and more international trades are appeared,most of which are done by international shipping.China is a large shipping country of the world,the rapid development of trade leads to many disputes about carriage of goods by sea.In order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties,the limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea is particularly significant.Since Maritime Law does not regulate the legal effect about the agreement on extending the limitation of actions in the carriage of goods by sea,the parties and judges often have confusion in judicial practice.At present,the Ministry of Transport has initiated the revision of Maritime Law.In the process of Dalian Maritime University taking the lead in revising the draft of the Maritime Law,the extension of limitation of actions is one of the controversial topics.Therefore,through the literature research methods,value analysis methods and comparative analysis methods,this paper studies the extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea from the perspective of Chinese legislation and judicial practice,combined with international conventions and foreign legislation,and provides the reference for the solution of this problem.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the paper contains four parts.The first part mainly introduces and analyzes the concept,properties and effects of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea,including the relations between limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea and limitation of actions,and the different identification of the nature of the common law countries and the civil law countries.The second part analyzes the relevant international conventions and foreign legislation,including the provisions of relevant international conventions and the relevant legislative provisions of civil law countries and regions and common law countries and regions.The third part analyzes the different doctrines of the extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea,including positive views and negative views.The reasons of positive view are that the extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea can equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties,embody the principle of autonomy of will,reduce litigation and improve the judicial efficiency.The reasons of negative view are that the extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea is not conducive to supervising the parties to exercise their rights,undermining the statutory nature of the statute of limitations,leading to uncertainty in the legal relationship.The fourth part analyzes the current legislation about extension of limitation of actions.Because the extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea in accordance with international conventions and shipping practices,reflecting the particularity and independence of the special law,conforming to the conflicting norms of Chinese law,and in line with Chinese judicial practice.Therefore,China should accept the effects of extension of limitation of actions about carriage of goods by sea.But the number of extensions and the period of the extensions should be limited.